https://journalejmp.com/index.php/EJMP <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>European Journal of Medicinal Plants (ISSN: 2231-0894)</strong> is dedicated to publish&nbsp;high quality papers (<a href="/index.php/EJMP/general-guideline-for-authors">Click here for Types of paper</a>)&nbsp;in all areas of medicinal plants research including plant growth and development, agronomic management, plant nutrition, plant physiology, cell biology, molecular biology, biotechnology, medicinal properties, phytochemical constituents, fitoterapia, pharmacognosy, essential oils, ehnopharmacology and phytomedicine. By not excluding papers based on novelty, this journal facilitates the research and wishes to publish papers as long as they are technically correct and scientifically motivated. The journal also encourages the submission of useful reports of negative results. This is a quality controlled, OPEN peer-reviewed, open-access INTERNATIONAL journal.</p> SCIENCEDOMAIN international en-US European Journal of Medicinal Plants 2231-0894 https://journalejmp.com/index.php/EJMP/article/view/1162 <p><strong>Aim: </strong>What we eat plays a vital role in human health with no exception to the eye which results to either good or poor vision. This review aimed at determining how what we eat affect age-related eye diseases and the role of antioxidants in phytochemical compound in preventing age-related eye diseases.</p> <p><strong>Study Design:</strong> A non-systematic review and evaluation of published literatures was done through web search engines such as PubMed and Google Scholar using Mendeley reference library for citation.</p> <p><strong>Methodology:</strong> A total of 48 articles were reviewed using the key words such as ‘’you are what you eat,’’ Age-related eye diseases, Antioxidants, Phytochemical compounds, Oxidative Stress and Free Radicals</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Increased consumption of energy-dense foods such as refined grains, processed meats, added sugar and saturated fatty foods might increase the risk of obesity, insulin resistance, chronically elevated blood glucose, chronic systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, and increased protein damage leading to initiation and progression of systemic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart related diseases, as well as age-related eye diseases such as cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and macular degeneration. Findings also showed that many botanical compounds such as curcumin, lutein and zeaxanthin, ginseng, and many more, present in food exhibit strong antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic properties that helps in ameliorating the destructive roles of oxidative stress.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Phytochemicals with proven antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, such as carotenoids and polyphenols, could be of benefit in preventing age-related eye diseases. Consumption of products containing these phytochemicals is recommended to provide noninvasive alternatives for protection, prevention and treatments of the major systemic and age-related eye diseases.</p> John E. Moyegbone Eghonghon E. Onoikhua Favour A. Fregene Kingsley N. Jacob Israel O. Efejene Edmond I. Anowa Omatseye A. Akuirene Emmanuel E. Agege Joseph O. Odoko Ezekiel U. Nwose Copyright (c) 2023 Moyegbone et al.; This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 2023-11-18 2023-11-18 34 10 12 25 10.9734/ejmp/2023/v34i101162 https://journalejmp.com/index.php/EJMP/article/view/1161 <p>The rhizome of Zingiber officinal (Ginger) is widely consumed as a juice and spice in the Congo, and is also used in the treatment of various pathologies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Ginger on the reproductive function of the rat. Four batches of four female rats each received the aqueous rhizome extract of Zingiber officinal (Ginger) at doses of 300 and 600 mg/kg, 17β-estradiol at a dose of 1 mg/kg and distilled water, orally for 14 days. Acute toxicity was previously assessed in mice. The results of the acute toxicity study at a dose of 5000 mg/kg of each extract showed no signs of toxicity in mice. Pharmacological tests with rats showed that aqueous ginger extract non-significantly increased and decreased rat body weight at 300 and 600 mg/kg respectively. The 600 mg/Kg dose blocked the sexual cycle at the estrus stage and lowered plasma estradiol levels. Whereas the 300 mg/kg dose increases plasma estradiol levels with a more or less regular sexual cycle. Chemical screening of this extract revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannins, anthraquinones and steroids.</p> Peneme B. M. L. Akassa H. Ondélé R. Backala Lanzah A. Etou Ossibi A. W. Abena A. A. Copyright (c) 2023 Peneme et al.; This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 2023-10-25 2023-10-25 34 10 1 11 10.9734/ejmp/2023/v34i101161 https://journalejmp.com/index.php/EJMP/article/view/1163 <p><strong>Aims:</strong> This study aims to investigate the phytochemical profile, antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity of aqueous extracts from four plants used in the Yamoussoukro district (Côte d'Ivoire) for the treatment of diabetes.</p> <p><strong>Methodology:</strong> Secondary metabolites of four plants (<em>Alchornea cordifolia, Ocimum gratissimum, Tetrapleura tetraptera and Vernonia colorata</em>) were carried out by phytochemical screening using appropriate reagents. Polyphenol and tannin contents were determined using the Folin- ciocalteu colorimetric method. The antioxidant activity of the various extracts was then assessed in vitro using the DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl) assay. Acute toxicity was also assessed by administering extracts orally to mice in single increasing doses. Hypoglycemic and antihyperglycemic activities were determined by monitoring blood glucose levels in mice after administration of the extracts.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of polyphenols, particularly flavonoids, as well as alkaloids, saponosides, terpenes and sterols in all extracts. The highest total flavonoid content was obtained with the <em>V. colorata</em> extract (58.10 mg/g QE). The <em>A. cordifolia</em> extract had the highest content of total polyphenols (57.56 ± 2.34 mg/g GAE) and total tannins (0.84 ± 0.02 mg/g TAE). Also, the highest antioxidant capacity (0.4190 mg/mL) was observed with the <em>A. cordifolia</em> extract, as well as good hypoglycemic activity at a dose of 300 mg/kg BW. In addition, all the extracts studied had a lethal dose greater than 5000 mg/kg BW.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> These results show that the plant extracts studied contain several secondary metabolites responsible for their good antioxidant capacities. What's more, the plants studied have good anti-diabetic activity and are non-toxic by the oral route. This could justify their use in traditional medicine to combat diabetes.</p> Philippe Kessé N’da Syndoux Dembélé Emmanuel N’dri Koffi Emile Kouassi Bebgin Augustin Amissa Adima Copyright (c) 2023 N’da et al.; This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 2023-11-22 2023-11-22 34 10 26 41 10.9734/ejmp/2023/v34i101163 https://journalejmp.com/index.php/EJMP/article/view/1164 <p>Consumers nowadays are becoming more aware of the importance of using meat products containing safe and natural additives. Hence, using natural food additives to extend the shelf life of meat along with delaying microbial growth is important. Given the increasingly popular view of <em>Moringa oleifera</em> leaves as a traditional remedy a study was designed to investigate the antimicrobial effect of <em>Moringa oleifera</em> leaves aqueous extract on grounded meat. The study evaluated the physico-chemical, microbial, and organoleptic qualities of ground beef treated with, 0.5%1%, 1.5%, and 2% levels of aqueous solution of extract of drumstick (<em>Moringa oleifera</em>) leaves during refrigerated storage at 4 ◦C. The meat samples treated with 1.5% crude extract of drumstick leaves significantly (P&lt;0.05) improved meat pH, juiciness, texture, flavor, taste, and overall acceptability scores as compared to control and other treated samples. Microbial load in terms of Aerobic Plate Count (APC) was found to be decreased significantly (P&lt; 0.05) in treated samples which 2% treatment was more effective. The lightness (L*), redness (a*) yellowness (b*) values significantly decrease which 2% has decrease more. The pH of ground beef showed a slight increase during storage but Moringa extract does not significantly affect the pH of the meat.</p> Lucy J. Mwankunda Frida Nyamete Beatrice Kilima Copyright (c) 2023 Mwankunda et al.; This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 2023-11-25 2023-11-25 34 10 42 52 10.9734/ejmp/2023/v34i101164